The Advantages of Rejection
by Macabre Hearts
Summary: Karkat has been torn apart by the girl he loves. In his wildly depressed state, he allows Vriska, Nepeta, Feferi and Kanaya to take him clubbing. Where he meets a DJ. A very blonde...very ironically hot DJ...M for later chapters. Collab between myself and MaskOfRain.
1. Of Sorrow and Autumn

**A/N: This is a collab between myself and MaskOfRain. I personally wrote this chapter, though the next one will be her work. Thank you guys! Reviews are yummy :3**

I walked down Terezi's apartment steps and out into the crisp autumn air. My face felt hot and salty, pricking rivers were slipping down my face faster than I could control. As a shuddery breath left my lips, I pulled the ancient phone from my pocket, flipping through my contacts and dialing the number I needed. One ring. Two rings. Finally, there was that familiar voice on the other side,

"Karkat?" Nepeta said, shushing the people in the background. "How did it go? What happened?"

"Nep…" I managed, my voice a crackling mess.

"Oh dear. Not well I take it?"

"What do you think?! She laughed in my goddamn fucking face, Nep…"

"Oh, Karkat, I'm sorry…why don't you come over? Just fur some company? All the girls are here, but they won't mind at all..."

I sighed, finding myself unable to refuse any amount comfort, regardless of where it came from.

"Fine. I'll be there…soon."

"Purrfect! Lemmew just tell them you're coming…" she mewed enthusiastically.

"Goodbye."

"See you soon, Karkat."

I hung up. Stuffing the phone back into my pocket, I started down the sidewalk, sniffling. The sky was a deep color, nearly matching my mood. Around me, autumn leaves in bright ocher and red tints swirled to the ground. They looked out of place in the bleak city landscape. If I hadn't been in such an awful mood and my blurry vision, it could have been beautiful. I put up the hood of my too-big hoodie and slipped my hands into my jean pockets. It was too fucking cold out to be walking around. Not that I cared. I had to clear my mind. I had to do something to get my thoughts off of Terezi's cruel cackling and the laugh lines that became evident on her face as she happily turned me down.

"_Me? With you? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…"_

It had been just like a bad dream…only, the harder I tried to wake up, the louder her cackling became. It got louder. And Louder. Louder. Oh god oh god oh god so loud so loud get me out I have to get out…

More tears started pricking at the back of my eyes as a cool breeze brushed my face.

_It's okay, _I tried to comfort myself, _It's all over now. You're okay._

I wasn't. I knew I wasn't okay. I'd been head-over-heels for TZ since…oh god…I couldn't even remember when. At least since I'd been a freshman. We'd been friends. We'd stuck together for those four years, through graduation and for the first year of college. And then I ruined it. My second year into college and I'd ruined it.

I held back a sob as I crossed the street and walked down another block. Nepeta's apartment was five or so blocks away from Terezi's. Not too close, not too far. I lived just between the two of them, right next to the university. He'd met Nep in that first year. They had gender and ethnics studies together. Nepeta was bright, though her constant cat puns had made her an outcast. It was only obvious that they needed to be friends.

I walked up to Nep's apartment complex, taking the elevator to the top floor. It was a seemingly long ride and the fluorescent lighting plus the soothing music made me feel sick (well…more sick than I felt before, anyway…). As it hit the top floor, it made an unusually loud dinging noise and I spilled out, holding down a good amount of vomit. I stumbled down the hall, stopping outside of the first room. Nep's. I'd made this trip so many times before. Sighing and wiping my face one last time, I knocked on the door. After a moment, it was opened by a familiar redhead wearing fake cat ears and a surprisingly low-cut, hip-hugging, dark green dress and a silver choker. She threw her arms around me,

"Karkat! Are you okay? Oh, I'm so sorry about Terezi. I guess she's not as good of a furriend as I thought."

I hugged the cat-like girl back for a second before sighing,

"It…I'm okay. I guess. But…first and foremost, tell me why you're dressed like…like…"

"Like a goddess?" The long haired blond had sauntered up behind Nepeta, swinging an arm around her. She herself was dressed in a pair of almost-ovary-showing jean shorts and a baggy blue tank-top, several gold necklaces hanging into her cleavage. I rolled my eyes,

"Hello, Vriska. Did you do this to her?" The blond smiled proudly,

"With the help of Kanaya and Feferi, yes. Do you like it, Karkat?" I rolled my eyes,

"She looks fucking lovely. Now may I ask you why you dressed her like a hoe?" Vriska frowned, flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"We're going clubbing. Do you want to come with us, Karkat?" Nepeta piped, bouncing on her toes. I thought for a moment. Jumping around to pulsating hardcore dance music, grinding into some unnamed bitch with insanely large breasts, getting drunk, having wild sex and waking up in the morning with unreal amounts of regret and self-loathing almost sounded…well, it sounded…nice.

"I guess." I grumbled. Vriska smiled widely,

"Excellent. Come in, come in…let us make a hot mess out of you." She grabbed my hand and dragged me through the door. I looked at the other girls. Kanaya sat on the couch, clad in a pair of black leather leggings and a red off-the-shoulder top with high-heeled black boots. She looked remotely covered compared to the other girls. Even Feferi, which surprised me. Her ensemble consisted of a dark purple tube dress, just big enough to cover her pleasure spots. There was no doubt in my mind that Vriska had gotten to her too. And I was next. The idea made me shudder.

Kanaya stood up and the four girls roughly shoved me into the bathroom, quickly removing my hoodie and my jeans. I stood there in my light gray boxers. Embarrassed. Exposed. Hilariously skinny. Vriska studied me for a moment. She had a plan. We all knew she had a plan. Goddammit, Vriska always had a goddamn fucking plan…I took a deep breath and awaited my humiliation.


	2. Of Bootyshorts and Hipsters

**A/N: This chapter was written by MaskOfRain :3 Check her out. She's awesome. **

**Reviews...they are crack to us. Be our drug dealer. Thank you  
**

And humiliate me she did.

I may have been feeling pretty shitty, and self-loathing, and overall just pretty fucking bad, but I still had a little bit of self-respect left in me.

Which is _exactly_ what kept me from going along with her suggestion to wear _booty shorts_.

Nu uh. No way in hell.

And even though Nepeta and Feferi joined in, stating that I would "get ALL of the boys and girls in the club to notice me!", I declined. Yeah, everyone in the club would notice me, but that's not the kind of attention I want.

It was by then that I was regretting even calling Nepeta. I should have just gone home to wallow and watch some romcoms. Maybe eat a few pints of ice cream, I don't know.

Oh well, I guess.

By the time they had gotten me ready, I looked considerably better. I had convinced them to let me wear jeans, though they got to choose them. Fucking skinny jeans with rips along the knees and a few on my thighs. Ugh. How do girls even walk in these things?

Anyway.

I chose my top, much to their displeasure. I would have been happy just going in my hoodie, but they stashed it away from me and made me pick something else, the little fuckers.

So, with that done, I chose a black button-up top with sleeves that went down to my elbows. As for shoes, the girls let me wear my old gray slip-on Vans. That came with a price, though, because they made me wear one of those stupid beanies that hipsters wear.

In fact, if I had a beard and a pair of glasses, I would have looked _exactly _like a fucking hipster.

These girls were clever, I'll give them that.

And.. if I had to be honest.. I didn't look half bad.

... Okay, I looked fucking awesome.

And so, with this sudden confidence boost, we all left Nepeta's apartment and bundled into one of the girl's cars (It must have been Feferi's, because it looked pretty expensive), then began to make our way to some popular club Vriska had been going on about.

"They're supposed to have a new DJ tonight. Which I guess isn't bad, but their old DJ was amazing." Vriska went on from the passenger seat. She had insisted on sitting up there, and none of us really felt it was worth arguing over. Besides, it's just a fucking car seat.

Although, I guess I can't say I was very thrilled with my seating arrangement.

I had gotten put in the back with Nepeta. Originally, I was supposed to sit in the back alone and let the girls have the good seats, but I guess Nepeta took pity on me and sat back there with me.

Which would have been perfectly fine if she had a good grasp of what 'personal space' was. She was practically in my lap the whole fucking time.

I don't know if she did it because she's fucking _Nepeta, _or if she was trying to be comforting in some strange cat-like way. Either way, it was more stress inducing than anything.

Then you add Vriska's ranting and Feferi's excited chatter, and the result is a huge clusterfuck of irritation.

And I wanted to say something _so fucking badly_, but I was in no position to anger or insult any of these girls. I mean, they were only trying to help, much to my displeasure.

Thankfully, the car ride wasn't long.

Once we pulled up in the crowded parking lot and actually found a spot to park in, we filed out of the vehicle and made our way towards the door.

I had never been to a club before, so I was honestly shocked when the usher guy at the door had to check the five of us with a fucking _metal detector._ I begrudgingly let him do it, then headed into the club with the girls.

The first thing I noticed about the place was the bright lights, extremely loud pop and techno music, and the strong scent of alcohol. It actually wasn't that bad. I mean, it was anything _but _comforting and calm, but maybe a little excitement was what I needed right now.

Feferi, Vriska, and Nepeta had gone to dance, after Vriska had suggested getting the attention of a few boy's that were near the dance floor. She had attempted to get me and Kanaya out there with them, but Kanaya didn't feel comfortable with it and I thought the idea was utterly ridiculous. And stupid. So with that, Kanaya and I retreated to the bar and the other three went off to seduce the poor guys.

About an hour into the festivities, Kanaya and I were intoxicated enough to be deemed tipsy, though sadly I couldn't say the same for the other three. They were pretty hammered.

"I don't understand why they insist on becoming so intoxicated to gain those boy's attention. I'm not even sure why they want their attention at all." Kanaya mumbled, taking a sip of her fruity drink. I just shrugged, taking a swig of my own drink; some kind of beer. I don't really remember what it was, but it tasted amazing. Somewhere in the distance I heard someone announce that they were taking a twenty minute break, and then there was a bit of booing and then reassurances. I didn't really pay attention though.

"It's impossible to explain why the hell they do what they do, but I'm pretty sure that Serket plays a pretty big part in it." I replied, turning around in my seat to glance around the room. More people had packed in since we got here, which made the place pretty full. It was really crowded, and I was thinking of leaving soon. This night wasn't as exciting as I'd hoped it would be, and instead it was just borderline uncomfortable, what with all of these drunk idiots stumbling around everywhere and dirty-dancing (Or grinding, whatever) with every attractive girl they saw. That included the three girls in our group.

I sighed, setting my drink down on the table before I reached my hand into my pocket. If I was leaving soon, then I might as well go ahead pay for my-

My train of thought was cut off by a tap on my shoulder, and I paused what I was doing and glanced over at the stranger with a raised brow. It was some blonde guy with ridiculous shades. Who even wears sunglasses in a night club?

Said guy smirked slightly at my obvious surprise (I didn't think it was that obvious) and leaned against the bar counter right next to me. Oh God. I was not in the mood to talk to strangers right now.

"'Sup, man. The name's Dave." He held out his hand for me to shake, and I just glared at it. I may have let my guard down when I was with the girls, but now it was up again and not coming down for a long time. Err, long time meaning until I got back to my apartment.

"Yeah, that's nice. Now if you'll excuse me," I fished some money out of my pocket, setting the amount on the counter before I stood and began to make my way to the door. I was out of here. I glanced over at my shoulder to look at Kanaya, and was surprised to find her speaking to another woman- some blonde chick. What was it with random blondes tonight?

I had gotten outside, relieved when I felt the cool night air instead of the uncomfortable heat in the building, and I began to make my way down the street. That is, until I heard someone calling for me. Err, at least I think so. "Hey, you!" It sounded like the blonde guy from earlier. Well, shit.

I turned around, confirming my suspicions. I stood, glaring at the other in hopes to scare him off. It didn't. He still came towards me.

Fan-fucking-tastic.


	3. Of Sweating Palms and Keyholes

I studied him as he stood before me. He was taller than me. The top of my head just reached his collarbone. Dressed in a black suit and those stupid-ass shades. With his hands stuffed in his pockets, he gave off the "cool" vibe. It all made me wonder why in the fuck he was stalking me. I wasn't what you could qualify as cool. I was…I was…I was fucking _Karkat Vantas_! I was a romcom addict…one of my best friends thought she was a goddamn _cat_! What was happening here?! Why was I having this conversation?

"Do you want something from me? Am I gonna get beaten up?" the blonde snorted,

"Calm down," he said, "I just wanna talk to you." I groaned. Something in me wanted to speak to him…just to see why he was bothering with…well, with _me _of all people. The rest of me, however, wanted to punch him in the smirk and run as fast as my legs could carry me. He stuck out his hand again, looking quite determined. I stared at it. Then I stared at _him_. So smug. So confident. So fucking…god, I didn't know…

I shook his hand. It was a dipshit move on my part but I shook his fucking hand. It was weird…my hand was almost tiny in comparison to his. I slipped my palm against his and he wrapped his fingers around it and just…held it there. It didn't move. We just stood there and looked at our hands as time stood utterly still.

"Karkat." I muttered.

"What?"

"My…" I coughed uncomfortably, "My name…is Karkat." I looked back at our hands. God, he had warm hands. Warm…calloused at the fingertips…steady…whoa…just…whoa.

"Karkat, hm?" he said, "I like that. It's different." I felt the tips of my ears start to burn. Dammit. "I'm Dave Strider." mustering all the self-discipline I could, I pulled my hand away.

"You've mentioned that…" I mumbled, stuffing my hands in my jean pockets. His smirk never dropped.

"Can I buy you a drink or something?"

"No."

"Oh…" he seemed at a loss. Like he'd never been turned down before. It was funny though, because more than anything I wanted to let him buy me a drink…and then maybe have a sloppy makeout with his face-FUCK FUCK FUCK, I needed to stop being such a horny mess…

"But uh…here's…here's my uh…" quickly, I grabbed his wrist and a pen from my pocket and scribbled my number on his still-warm palm. Fuck…smooth move, Karkat. Smooth fucking move. If he didn't think you were an idiot before, he sure as hell thinks it now.

He looked at it. And grinned. And coolly said,

"Alright. Works just as well." And with that, he turned and walked back into the loud building. I was left standing there, heart pounding, palms sweating, blush just grazing my cheeks…oh god no…not more feelings…please no more…

I shuddered. He was…so…so…

"Perfect." I muttered to myself. I clamped a hand over my mouth, shocked by the words. My blush deepened. Dammit…Dammit…

"Dammit…oh god, not again…"

I turned and ran down the street as well as those stupid-ass jeans would let me. My throat hurt and my legs felt numb, but I didn't slow down and I didn't stop until I was outside my apartment door, panting as I pulled the key from my pocket. After a few failed attempts, I managed to get the damn thing into the keyhole. I immediately stumbled through, shut the door and collapsed on my couch. I let out a body-shaking sob. Still shaking, I pulled off my shirt. The skinny jeans. That fucking hat. I lay in my underwear and cried. I must have been a pathetic sight to see... "Not again..." I sobbed. "I can't do it again..."


End file.
